Cyber security has never been a greater challenge. Hackers are attacking more and more individuals as well as companies to obtain sensitive data and extort ransom. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Cybersicherheit (DGC) has made it their mission to make the Internet safer for all users by providing innovative solutions and expert knowledge.
The Dangers of Digitization
As the opportunities by increasing digitization rise, so does the potential for attacks from the web. Organizations are faced with the challenge of positioning themselves resiliently against hacker attacks, malware, and operational security incidents – ideally before the business is damaged. To be prepared, companies should be aware of these recent developments and set up their security measures appropriately:
- Hackers have taken advantage of the pandemic: Cybercrime as a whole has increased by 600 percent since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- More digital extorsion: Ransomware attacks show a 93 percent increase in 2021. A new incident in which malware is used to extort a ransom occurs every 14 seconds.
- Malware on the rise: An average of 322,000 new variants are created every day. In 2020, the BSI registered almost 7 million reports of malware infections to German network operators.
- Huge Costs due to data leaks: The average financial damage of a data breach is $3,86 million worldwide.
New risks and security issues are shaping the digital world of work. In addition to expertise in cyber security, this requires continuous vigilance and responsiveness, as the cyber world is constantly on the move. Holistic and sustainable security measures are therefore essential for the future viability and cyber resilience of every company.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Cybersicherheit (DGC) is one of the leading providers of cybersecurity and data protection. Their mission is to make the Internet safer for all users by providing solutions driven by technical innovation and expert knowledge.
Safer Internet for All Users
As one of the leading providers of cyber security solutions and services, DGC supports companies in taking advantage of the digital transformation and minimizes the associated risks. The company’s focus is to enable everyone to safely leverage the potential of digital transformation. This allows clients to focus on the scalable and sustainable growth of their core business and not be distracted from managing the risks.
With its 360-degree cyber security approach along with its products, the company ensures comprehensive cyber security solutions and IT-related risk management. DGC offers a plethora of services like simulated hacker attacks, cyber security awareness trainings for client company employees, advice on security standards, or emergency services in the event of IT security incidents. Clients receive comprehensive solution packages for their complete cyber security – customized, up-to-date, and from a single source. The services are managed from various locations around the world such as Germany, Switzerland, the Middle East, and the USA.
Facing Challenges
Every industry within the corporate world has its own set of requirements and difficulties. Some of these difficulties are universal to various businesses and organizations and cross sectors and industries. Companies work hard to position their brands, keep their staff content, and maintain their connections with clientele. A successful company sets itself apart from its competitors by facing and overcoming challenges.
Similarly, DGC had its fair share of challenges. Based on its unique combination of products, especially its vulnerability scanner cyberscan.io in interplay with the other services, the company is faced with a high level of demand. To be able to constantly deliver the same level of quality, DGC had to build adequate organizational structures and processes.
Triggers for Growth
Challenges can be overcome with strategies. DGC found its secret to success: entering the market with a combination of proprietary products and services in a bundle. This was done to deliver a one-stop solution along the value chain of cyber security from prevention of cyber-attacks to reaction with our incident response team in case of an attack.
To do this, DGC relies on a “Made in Germany”, 360-degree cyber security approach to ensure the highest security standards in companies, organizations, and authorities. Its holistic approach is based on the fundamental pillars of the renowned NIST (US National Institute of Standards and Technology) Cyber Security Framework for optimizing IT security in companies:
- Identify: DGC identifies the vulnerabilities in the systems.
- Protect: The company protects clients and their companies to help and close vulnerabilities quickly and sustainably.
- Detect: It detects problems and anomalies in real-time in the Cyber Defense Operation Centre.
- Respond: By continuously monitoring and preparing for emergencies, DGC responds quickly to incidents.
- Recover: The company is also there for its clients during and after cyber-attacks to recover data and secure traces.
The strategies of DGC are proving to be quite effective: Over the last four years the company has had a compound annual growth rate of 180 percent. Looking at the first half of this year, it will significantly exceed this number.
One-Stop Solution for Cybersecurity
DGC focuses on providing top-notch cyber security products and services that set the firm apart from the rest of the market:
Modular Cyber Security Partnerships:
The complexity of IT threats and potential cyberattacks prevents a standardized response. As a result, business security strategies should be as varied as the entry points for cyberattacks. To guarantee the highest levels of IT security, DGC uses a modular collaboration approach. Clients who work with DGC receive a customized cyber security package that includes the precise goods and services each organization requires for ongoing IT infrastructure monitoring.
Our vulnerability scanner cyberscan.io®:
Businesses should be wary of vulnerabilities in IT infrastructures and software systems that act as entry points for cybercriminals. With cyberscan.io®, DGC offers a solution that is up-to-date and based on numerous reliable sources. It is a cyber security program that combines the capabilities of a penetration tester, vulnerability scanner, and open-source intelligence tool. This solution enables customers to access information about all the system vulnerabilities and swiftly plug security holes while continuously monitoring the system landscapes of the organization.
Cyber Defense Operation Center (CDOC):
This is a high-performance Security Operation Center in northern Germany which performs at an enhanced level, providing visibility and resilience. It is responsible for protecting IT infrastructures of companies. To identify risks at an early stage, secure networks, and publicly accessible systems against hackers, the CDOC offers services in three steps: First, during the Vulnerability Monitoring DGC collects and analyses all vulnerabilities in a company’s IT infrastructures and software systems with the special security tool, cyberscan.io®.
Second, DGC advises IT managers on which vulnerabilities they should fix as soon as possible, and which priority should they assign to further vulnerability reports. Finally, as part of the Security Incident Response the experts at DGC react promptly to cyber-attacks and advise remotely from its CDOC in Northern Germany or on-site at the company if desired.
Penetration Tests:
Penetration tests are used by the security professionals at DGC to mimic cyberattacks on the company’s IT infrastructure. This is the best way to demonstrate how hackers break into systems in a practical and realistic manner. As a result, it is possible to fix vulnerabilities before they become serious and stop the worst case from happening. Pentesting aids in evaluating a company’s cyber security and identifying potential points of attack by serving as an endurance test for the IT infrastructure. Companies get fair, expert criticism of their security procedures, which is a crucial decision-making tool for ongoing improvement.
Security Awareness Training:
The best defense against cyberattacks is human intellect. With the help of DGC’s security awareness training programs, managers can prepare staff members for evolving network risks and turn them into the organization’s human firewall. Then it might be used for malware, phishing emails, or targeted attacks on workers who conduct remote work.
Through interactive learning, hands-on training exercises, and up-to-date IT security knowledge, the Security Awareness Training courses demonstrate how cybercriminals breach IT systems and empower staff to secure the IT infrastructure.
Blockchain Security:
Blockchain technology is being used more and more in sectors including finance, pharmaceuticals, and transportation to share data, execute transactions, and handle money. This is due to the alleged security of blockchain infrastructures. Each data record is decentrally stored, processed, and cryptographically linked to a chain of data records. However, even these systems are not impervious to cyberattacks, and there are certain points of vulnerability where attackers can do a great deal of harm.
The services of the IT security tool, cyberscan.io®, have been developed by DGC professionals in the Innovation Lab to assist businesses in enhancing their blockchain security. This enables client organizations to continuously monitor their own network nodes and gives them crucial information about vulnerabilities in their blockchain infrastructures.
Reliability Check
DGC follows a very rigid process of quality control. Internally, their teams constantly test the tools to ensure the consistency of the product quality. The company also has an external partner who regularly tests the systems, people, and services. DGC team members are in continuous interaction with their clients to be able to immediately react on potential malfunctions or additional requests they might have. Within the company’s innovation lab, it constantly develops additional features to the software to ensure that DGC always stay ahead of new developments in the market.
Leadership Starts Within
Strong leadership is the primary cause of an organization’s stability. Effective leaders are believed to be the catalyst for organizational growth and advancement in any organization. They possess the requisite skill sets to increase the productivity and efficiency of many business operations, which promotes the growth and development of organizations. The two DGC CO-CEOs, Andreas Pankow and Dino Huber, are an illustration of this thought. They are the firm foundation for the success of DGC and hold a catbird’s seat in the cyber security sector.
With his credible experience of more than two decades in international financial service companies across Europe and other parts of the world, Andreas has expertise in business planning, developing, and building strategic concepts. Andreas believes in having a vision that a company should stand by. When asked about entrepreneurship, he says, “Be a leader, a role model and motivate people by living this role. Develop and execute the company’s strategy. Determine the goals, set standards, and create a culture.
” Andreas’s most important message to budding entrepreneurs: “Do what you do with passion. Follow your dream. Believe in yourself and don’t give up. Gather people around you that share your vision, your attitude, your empathy, and your enthusiasm.”
DGC’s Co-CEO, Dino Huber brings decades of experience in the IT sector, particularly in the defense and defense industry, where he was internationally deployed for IT and infrastructure projects. He was also responsible for a well-known IT defense service provider as Managing Director.
He takes challenges head-on and enables the best possible solutions by connecting teams and customers with different nationalities and personalities to achieve the ultimate goal. Dino believes that one of the most important components of becoming an entrepreneur is putting the customer first. Dino credo is: “When an entrepreneur has a good grasp of his clients, financial excellence follows.”
Team Spirit at DGC
DGC is not only continuously developing its products and services in the field of cyber security, but changing on an internal, organizational level as well. “For us, New Work, New Mindset, and New Methods are not just current buzzwords, but the values we live with every day,” says DGC Co-CEO Andreas Pankow. “Our work culture is characterized by flat hierarchies because our employees can ideally develop their diverse potential. This benefits our modular partnership program, our product portfolio, and above all – the cyber security of our customers.”
Both Andreas and Dino are convinced that big accomplishments can only be achieved within a team and not alone. Therefore, the comprehension of the employees is yet another value that is extremely important to the two leaders. To promote others and help them grow within their perimeter it is crucial to show self-awareness and selfless behavior.
The largest asset of DGC is its workforce. The company continually makes investments in its employees, not only by providing them with technical training, but also by assisting them in the process of growing as people. After having won the “Employer of Choice Award” by Focus Magazine in 2021, DGC went ahead and established numerous employee-centric initiatives. They appointed a feelgood manager, increased holidays by 33%, tripled the employee pensions plan, and introduced mobile work regulations.
Innovation by Diversity and Creativity
DGC is an extremely diverse company in the industry. Both, Dino and Andreas are strong believer in encouraging diversity through lived empathy towards each employee and showing people loyalty as well as reliability. By providing them the trust and confidence to make their own decisions and take on responsibilities, he supports people in reaching their full potential. This makes it possible for each and every person to develop and share thoughts, visions, and ideas.
The company devotes a lot of effort to its teams and takes the internal think tank quite seriously. Andreas is convinced that tearing down barriers, reshaping problems for new perspectives, and bringing people together to develop sustainable solutions are the real secret to DGC’s success.
Moreover, the company founder, Matthias Nehls, took a break from all operational duties at the beginning of last year to concentrate on innovation and the creation of new goods and services. By taking both steps, the company ensures to push itself forward and maintain the business as active as it has been in recent years.
